Springfield firm marketing videogamers' dream to sports coaches

Tim Landis

Friday

Dec 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 28, 2007 at 3:55 PM

This is serious sports business. A spinning, crashing, virtual 3D running back crashes through the line, employs a little deft footwork and a burst of speed, and in a matter of seconds — he’s dancing in the end zone.

OK, it’s a gearhead’s video-gaming dream.

This is serious sports business. A spinning, crashing, virtual 3D running back crashes through the line, employs a little deft footwork and a burst of speed, and in a matter of seconds — he’s dancing in the end zone.

OK, it’s a gearhead’s video-gaming dream.

But it’s not one you’re likely to find on even the widest of wide-screen televisions anytime soon or projected on the wall of your teenager’s basement game room, surrounded by bags of chips and crunched-up soda cans.

Prior to joining Levi, Ray & Shoup of Springfield two years ago, Martinsen was the “technology guy” for the University of Nebraska. His job basically was to break down game video into high-tech bits and bytes that football coaches could use to analyze the smallest detail of individual plays.

LRS, a consulting and technology company founded in Springfield in 1979, recently signed an exclusive deal with 3D MVP to market the sports technology company’s Play Visualizer software to professional and collegiate sports programs.

The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens became the first team to purchase the software. The cost is $50,000 to $150,000 per station, depending on the program.

Football and basketball teams are the primary marketing targets, though the software can be customized for other sports.

LRSSports has marketed digital video-editing programs to professional, collegiate and high school teams for a decade. The primary product lines, Ultima and Gamer, allow users to store post-game data for play analysis and “tendency reports” on opposing teams.

LRSSports manager Ron Wojcicki said the 3D MVP programs take even that high technology to another level by allowing coaches to view individual plays, and players, from any angle in 3D.

Even skin colors and uniform colors can be manipulated.

“In the old days, we would hang the game films on nails, and say, ‘This is the frame we want to see,’” said Wojcicki, who coached junior varsity and varsity baseball at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield from 1984 to 2000, when he joined LRS.

But advances in technology have contributed to the intense competition for an edge come game day — although old-fashioned clipboards can still be seen on the sidelines at professional and college games.

“It is illegal to use video and other electronic equipment in the course of a game on the sidelines,” said Wojcicki, although the NBA does allow coaches to review video at halftime.

In September, the NFL fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 for the team’s use of a video camera to spy on an opponent’s defensive signals. The team also was fined $250,000 and ordered to give up a draft pick next year.

The primary uses of virtual software are for training scenarios, scouting opponents and game-strategy sessions, all without risking injuries to players. Digital simulation also is used by the military and in medicine.

Ravens players even wear three-dimensional goggles to analyze their reactions to specific plays and from a variety of angles.

“Coaches will spend hours watching the first and second steps of a back,” said Martinsen. The programs also allow coaches and players to crunch the numbers on opposing formations – to determine, for instance, if opponents tend to run or pass in certain situations.

“There are no guarantees, but you can see that 80 percent of the time if they’re in this formation, they’re going to run,” said Martinsen.

The primary difference between the 3D sports technology and high-end video games is that coaches can manipulate individual players to run virtual plays from beginning to end.

Wojcicki and Martinsen said the next step is probably a helmet or other high-tech headgear that will allow athletes to step directly into simulated 3D game situations, without the need of terminals and video screens.

“It’ll be a total virtual reality, where the player can put a helmet on and go into a room and practice,” said Martinsen.

But even the biggest fans point out that virtual reality software is simply a teaching tool. There’s still plenty of room for old-fashioned repetition and on-the-field, in-your-face practice, as well as human error, come game time.

“Does this form of training actually work?” Ravens assistant offensive line coach Greg Roman said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.

“There’s always good technology to throw at a problem, but it doesn’t mean you solve the problem. Just because your shoe can now tell you how far you ran as an athlete doesn’t mean you run better. It’s just a tool, so it still comes back to how it’s used, how it’s implemented.”

Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536 or tim.landis@sj-r.com.

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